The Notebook
by OceansAria
Summary: **ROUGH DRAFT** This is a very rough draft that I want feedback on if I should write/post more! I've been wanting and meaning to write a Notebook AU for Jim and Ariel for a long time, so I hope you enjoy! This is just when they meet!
1. Prologue

The air was crisp that morning when Bud awoke and dressed himself in his everyday wear - a nice light blue polo, pressed khakis, and loafers. But since the atmosphere was cooling down being that it was early October, he pulled on a sweater that his wife had knit for him years ago too. After brushing what sparse gray hair he had, and putting on his glasses and taking his pills, he picked up his worn leather notebook and made his way down the hall of the rest home. Many of the other patients were already awake and moving - some on their own, most in wheelchairs.

Bud smiled and greeted the familiar faces of his friends. He clapped a man about his age on the back as he passed, and said, "How're you today, Ron?"

Ron, surprised, halted his conversation with a nurse, and answered, "As good as I'll ever be, Bud." The older man smiled from ear to ear, mouth full of dentures, and carried on his previous conversation. Bud walked on.

He soon came to the exit doors and pushed through them. The cool air hit him like a ton of bricks; he stopped to take a deep breath in. Autumn had always been his favorite time of year. This was the time when the geese were coming in to sit on the lake before continuing their migration South for the winter - and this was the time, years before, when he'd regained something he'd thought he'd lost.

He took his time walking across the dewy grass to the wooden bench as he had every day for years. Settling himself on the bench, he sighed as his joints groaned and his hips ached. He just wasn't as young and fit as he used to be - but he still tried to live life to the fullest.

No one else was outside at the moment, so Bud simply sat there and talked with God. He prayed for all the people at the rest home, he prayed for his loved ones, and he prayed for strength. And by the time he was done praying, he felt the familiar hand of Betty Lou, the nurse of a good friend of his, on his shoulder.

"She's up and dressed if you want to come see her," Betty Lou said softly, not wanting to disturb the older man's thoughts. Betty Lou was a pretty, dark-skinned lady with short curly hair and kind brown eyes. Her scrubs had cats and dogs on them.

Bud nodded and began to rise. Betty Lou wrapped her hands around his right arm and helped him to his feet gently, and then the two started off back towards the grand, beautiful white house on the lake shore. Once back inside, Bud followed the nurse even though he knew the way by heart. It was simply part of his daily ritual; a tradition that he didn't want to break.

Betty Lou knocked on the door when she came to it and announced herself. "Ariel, dear, it's Betty Lou. May I come in? I've brought a surprise with me."

The reply came a little uneasily, as usual: "Yes, come on in, Betty Lou."

Betty Lou turned to Bud before they entered the room and whispered, "She's slightly worse today, hon. I've already had to tell her who I was twice and remind her to take her pills three times."

He nodded and forced a smile, though, on the inside, his heart almost stopped. She wasn't getting better, and he knew it. The doctors hadn't told him - but he knew. In his mind, he prayed silently for strength once more before he followed the nurse into Ariel's room. Sunlight spilled through the large bay window onto the shiny wooden floors. In the corner of the room, an woman in her mid-seventies sat at an easel, painting the scene outside the window in front of her. Her strokes were slow and certain, and Bud could see the lake coming to life under her hands. She painted the same thing every day.

"Ariel, sweetie?" Betty Lou touched her shoulder. The older woman turned. "You can finish painting later, okay? This nice man is here to read to you."

"Read to me?" Ariel inquired.

"Yes, ma'am. He goes around reading to all the patients."

"Oh, okay." The nurse helped Ariel rise to her feet once she gave consent, and then helped her over to the other side of the room, to a small set of table and chairs. Bud had already settled himself in his usual seat, but he rose when Ariel started to come his way. Like the gentleman he always was, he pulled out the opposite chair for her.

"Why, thank you," she said, smiling softly. She sat; Bud regained his seat, set down his notebook, and then went along with the routine.

"My name's Bud. I've been here for almost a year. I'm not exactly a patient, but they let me stay." He chuckled to himself.

Ariel continued to smile. "I'm Ariel," was all she said. And so Bud when on and said:

"The story I have for you today is something I haven't read to many people around here. It's a special one, and I don't like to read it too much or it wouldn't be special anymore, ya know?"

She nodded. "I understand."

Bud slid the notebook over to himself, opened it the first, worn page, and cleared his throat. "Let's get started then." Clearing his throat once more, he felt the flashbacks at the back of his mind as he began to read the first sentence: "It was the summer of 1940. . . " When he glanced up, Ariel was already absorbed in the story - as always. Looking into her eyes made the flashbacks harder to resist. And so they consumed him.


	2. Chapter One

They came from two different worlds - but yet, during the summer of 1940, the boundaries of these worlds were broken and neither of them cared about the consequences. For they small slot of time they were given, they were happy - and that was all that mattered.

James Hawkins (or Jim, as he preffered) was eighteen in the summer of '40. His mother was the only family that he had-being that his no-good father had up and left them years before. When he wasn't working at the lumber yard or helping his mother with her Inn, he was with his best friend, Ben, somewhere getting into trouble - like all boys that age.

But on that certain early June evening, Ben had brought him along to the carnival. Ben's main plan was to meet his new girl, Lucy, but Jim's was to avoid girls altogether. He'd had a couple of flings, a few short little relationships that ended after the maximum of three dates. Jim didn't want to have a serious girlfriend-he didn't even want to get married. He already had one woman in his life, his mother Sarah, and that was enough for him.

Ben and Jim were stationed near the cotton candy stand in the middle of the fair grounds so that Ben could find Lucy easily. Ben was all of one-hundred and ten pounds and the top of his head barely reached Jim's shoulder. He had thick, round glasses and unruly curly brown hair. His back was stooped slightly, and he walked with a bit of a shuffle from where he was crippled in childhood by polio. As Jim ordered a stick of cotton candy from the stand, Ben tweedled his thumbs nervously, muttering to himself.

"What if she doesn't really like me after all, Jimmy?" Ben asked, hyperventilating. "What if she was just messin' and she has another guy and I'm gonna be alone-"

"Ben," Jim interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Lucy said she'd be here, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but-"

"She gave you her word?"

"Yes, but-"

"_Ben_," Jim sighed. He picked at the cotton candy and then held it out to Ben to take some. They always shared food. Jim squeezed Ben's skinny shoulder. "Man, if she said she's coming, then she is. From what I hear, she really likes you."

Ben nodded and sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I always am." Jim smirked as he popped another piece of cotton candy into his mouth before beginning to walk off.

His best friend grabbed his arm and squeaked, "Where are you going?!"

"To ride some of the rides."

"You can't just _leave_ me here, all alone!"

Jim twisted his arm out from Ben's grasp. "Lucy's gonna be here soon. I ain't gonna stand here and hold your hand till then." He tossed the now naked cotton candy spiel into a trash can. Ben's expression fell. Jim waved. "See ya later."

Jim sauntered off in the direction of the Ferris wheel and the bumper cars. Little did he know, he had a follower. About halfway there, Ben showed his childlike face and Jim just rolled his eyes. "I should've known you would tag along. Aren't you worried about Lucy not being able to find you, though?" But his best friend didn't say a word; he just tried to keep pace with Jim's long-legged stride. Once at the Ferris wheel, they found the line too long and decided to head on over to the bumper cars. They'd loved that ride since they were children. As Jim's mother put it, when you live in a tiny town like Seabrook all your life, the smallest and silliest of things can entertain you.

The line wasn't too long there, so Jim and Ben stepped in. Laughter rung through the air, mingling with the scents of garbage, salt air, greasy food and cheap perfume. The smell of freedom-the scent of summertime. The line moved up some more, and Ben and Jim were at the front. Jim was paying attention to the strength contest going on a few feet away when Ben pulled on Jim's sleeve and said, "Hey, lookie there! There's Lucy!"

Jim glanced over and did a double take. His eyes flitted right over Lucy, a burly brunette with freckles and gapped-tooth grin, to a red-headed beauty with fair skin. She was bumping the fender of her car against Lucy's, laughing and squealing as she did so. She wore a cherry red dress that was a deeper shade than her fiery hair, and immediately, Jim could tell she was upper class. The dress was a nicer material than Lucy's. Though, she didn't really act like an upper class woman.

Ben was frantically waving at Lucy, who enthusiastically waved back. "Isn't she a beaut?" Ben whispered to his friend.

"Yes," Jim said sincerely, his eyes still glued to Lucy's friend's frame as she and Lucy exited the ride. A minute later, Lucy and her friend met the boys, whom had jumped out of line, between the Ferris wheel and the bumper cars.

"Benny!" Lucy gave the skinny boy a bear hug, and he returned it albeit awkwardly. When the two of them broke apart, Lucy ran a hand through her frizzy curls and turned to her friend, who was standing slightly outside of the circle. Jim's eyes hadn't left her since they'd lain on her. "Boys, I'd like you to meet my best friend, Ariel. She's here for the summer till she has to go back to boarding school in Columbia."

"Nice to meet y'all," Ariel greeted them, smiling a pretty white smile. Her aquamarine, round eyes lit up as she shook hands with Ben, then Jim. Jim didn't regret to think that he may have held on a little too long to her hand. She flinched and pulled away, her smile immediately fading.

"Do you wanna dance with me?" Jim had spit out the question without thinking, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben glance at him suspiciously. Ben knew that Jim wasn't looking for a girl.

Ariel's face flushed. "No," she hissed.

Just then, a towheaded boy with a letterman jacket slid his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and said, "Hey, Ariel, how about a ride on the Ferris wheel?"

Her tone immediately changed as she turned and smiled at the boy. "I would love to."

Jim watched, irritated and miffed, as Ariel and the boy skipped off. The boy threw a haughty look over his shoulder at Jim as the couple got in line for the Ferris wheel, Ben and Lucy right behind them. Jim sauntered over, watched as the two couples got into their seats, and began to rise into the air.

Then he got a crazy idea.

A crazy _good_ idea.

Jim steeled himself and took off at a sprint as Ariel's car came around to the bottom of the wheel again. Without even thinking of the consequences (imminent death, for one), he took off at top speed, past the line of people and the operator, and jumped headfirst into the car between the boy and Ariel. Ariel screeched angrily and the boy yelled, "Hey, what's ya problem?!" People below screamed and the operator shouted, "Jim, get down from there!"

"I'll be down in just a second, Tom!" Jim replied.

"What are you _doing_?" Ariel growled.

"We started off on the wrong foot," Jim began calmly as the guy next to him glared. "Hi. My name's James Hawkins but you can call me Jim. It's really nice to meet you. I'd like to take you out sometime."

"_What?_" Ariel cried.

"Buddy, get out of here! She's with me!" the boy behind Jim said.

"Jim, there can only be two in a car!" Tom the operator yelled from below.

"Okay, Tom, I'll get off," Jim said. Raising himself out of the car, he capulted himself forward, caught ahold of one of the steel bars in front of the car, and turned himself around to face her again. Ariel screamed again and clutched at her heart. More terrified cries came from below, and Ben shouted, "Jim, stop being a idiot!"

"Get down from there, bozo!" the boy with Ariel said.

But still, Jim remained calm. On the inside, he was smirking. His eyes were only for Ariel. The crease between her brows was growing deeper by the second, and he thought it was kind of adorable how peed off she was with him.

"Now, I'm gonna ask you again, " Jim said. "Will you go out with me sometime?"

Ariel cried, "_What_?! No!"

"No?" Jim asked.

"No!"

"No?"

"_No!_"

"Why not?"

"'Cause I don't _want_ to!"

"Okay," Jim sighed. "You leave me no choice, then." He let his left hand loosen from the steel bar and hang at his side, and again, people screamed. Jim could hear Lucy and Ben yelling at him from below. Ariel squealed in horror.

"You're gonna kill yourself!" Lucy said.

"Jim, get down from there before you fall and break your neck!" Ben said.

"Last chance," Jim said through gritted teeth to Ariel. "Will you go out with me?"

"You're crazy!" Ariel declared, shaking her head fiercely.

"Shoot, my hand's slippin'," Jim hissed, straining to hold on. His veins were straining against his skin in his neck, and his teeth were on edge.

"Aw, c'mon, Ariel!" Lucy said, exasperated. "Just go out with him!"

"_Fine_!" Ariel screeched. Her blazing aquamarine eyes set on Jim's, hot as coals, beautiful as priceless gems. "I'll go out with you."

"Aw, don't do me any favors," Jim replied.

"No, no, I want to!"

The boy next to her said in disbelief, "You want to?"

"_Yes_!"

Jim grinned slightly. "Say it."

"I wanna go out with you!" Ariel screamed.

"Say it again."

"I WANNA GO OUT WITH YOU!"

Jim easily replaced his hand on the steel bar and balanced himself. "Alright, alright, we'll go out."

Frustrated, Ariel said, "You think you're so smart, don't ya?"

Lucy said from down under, "That wasn't funny, Jim!"

Ariel glanced back and answered, "Oh, it's okay, I'll take care of this." Turning back around to face Jim, she reached out and started to undo his belt.

"What are you-no, please-don't-" Jim began, but he was helpless to stop it as Ariel unzipped his pants as well and then wiggled them down to his ankles. Immediately, Jim heard boisterous laughter. "Oh, God," He breathed.

Ariel crossed her arms and laughed, leaning back into her seat. "You're not so cocky now, are ya?" she teased.

But for some reason, he wasn't angry with Ariel. In fact, he kind of smiled.

She was too enchanting to be angry with for long.


End file.
